Mobile Share Value Plans Questions and Discussion

Presuming you are on mobile share, your bill should only increase $25. Even with the $36 upgrade fee, that is only $61, not $90. You'll have to do a line by line comparison of new bill vs old bill to see what else was added.

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@Viescas wrote:

I was very disappointed today to learn that after 21 years of being a loyal AT&T customer they do not make any effort to keep me as a customer.  I went in to purchase a new phone today.  I had a very old phone when we switched over to the family share plan for four.  It was not even a smart phone.  I shopped around to compare prices and Radio Shack had the IPhone 5s for $80 plus the activation with a two year plan.  When they were setting it up in the system I was told that AT&T was eliminating my $25 credit on my share plan and that it would go up from $160 to $185 per month for two years.  So basically I was going to pay $550 more on the family plan over the two year term.  So in total I would pay $80 plus tax, $35 activation fee plus  $550.  A  total of $665.  We called AT&T and spoke to a rep and then to a manager.  I was told by the manager that for any upgrade we would lose the $25 credit raising our bill by $25 per month per upgrade. If all of my family members decided to upgrade we would pay $100 more a month.  

I then went back to the AT &T retail store and decided to get the next plan for the IPhone 5s.  I was told I would have to pay approximately $56.00 in taxes upfront and I would pay $32.50 a month for 12 months.  So I would pay $390  plus the $56 in taxes a total of $496.  I understood I would own the phone then.  Well  when i was going to sign the contract it stated it was $32.50 a month for 20 months or $650 over the 20 months.  I questioned it and was told that it was 20 months and I would own the phone but I only had to pay 12 months to upgrade.  I am certain that is the way AT& T trains it personnel.  AT&T is very shady and as I am reading in this forum there are a lot of dissatisfied customers.  It doesn't seem to me that AT&T cares and only wants to see what it can get away with. Just tell people upfront what you need to get out of them to make your revenue margin.  Tell me that you need to get $660 out of me for the IPhone or whatever price it really is for what ever phone I chose.I am certain that in a few months when people catch on to the shadiness of the family plan AT&T will come up with another program.  It seems to me that a business as big as AT&T should be more reputable and take care of it's customers.  Why don't they tell people the way it really is and be upfront with them.  I am not happy and I am seriously rethinking being an AT&T customer. I am looking a Verizon.

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Sorry you feel the Next pricing is shady but personally, I realized that Next was a plan to pay full price for your phone the day it was announced. The price for a phone under Next is the same regardless of which option you pick, the only difference is how many months you pay and neither option is for 12 months. If a store rep told you there were only 12 payments, they were wrong. What you can do is discontinue payments after 12 months by trading in your phone for another phone (i.e. upgrading). Of course, you would then have to pay for the new phone. Optionally, you continue paying off your phone until you own it. 

Good luck with Verizon, they have the exact same plan as Next, they call it Edge. They also have pretty much the same pricing on their share plans meaning you will have to pay full price for your phones with them also in order to get the lowest service pricing. If you're thinking about T-Mobile, they call their plan Jump and they don't even offer the discounted 2 year contract price for phones any more. 

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@Viescas wrote:

I went in to purchase a new phone today.  I had a very old phone when we switched over to the family share plan for four.  It was not even a smart phone.  I shopped around to compare prices and Radio Shack had the IPhone 5s for $80 plus the activation with a two year plan.  When they were setting it up in the system I was told that AT&T was eliminating my $25 credit on my share plan and that it would go up from $160 to $185 per month for two years.  So basically I was going to pay $550 more on the family plan over the two year term.  So in total I would pay $80 plus tax, $35 activation fee plus  $550.  A  total of $665.  We called AT&T and spoke to a rep and then to a manager.  I was told by the manager that for any upgrade we would lose the $25 credit raising our bill by $25 per month per upgrade. If all of my family members decided to upgrade we would pay $100 more a month.  

 

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What you were told (above) is stated in the TOS when purchasing a smartphone to be used on a line that's under a MSV account.  To put it simply--if you purchase a new smartphone on a line that's on a MSV account and you elect to pay the subsidized (i.e., discounted) price for said phone rather than pay full price OOP or go with Next--that line will no longer receive the per-line discount (in your case, $25).

Why some people feel that they should be able to pay just the discounted/subsidized pricing for a new smartphone under MSV and still think they should rightfully not lose their per-line discount is beyond me--this is clearly a matter of those folks "wanting/having their cake and eating it too".  Not gonna happen under the MSV plans--if you want a new smartphone under MSV, you're gonna have to either: be willing to give up the per-line discount ($15 or $25 per line) if you go subsidized phone pricing on each line for which you go this route, pay for it under Next, or pay full price OOP.  Gone are the days where you can get a new smartphone for cheap AND not see your monthly bill go up even after having signed a 2-year contract...people may not like it, but that's the way wireless companies are rolling these days--for better or for worse.

I signed up for this a few months ago.  Wow, I thought, my bill is actually about $100 lower than it was before.  Well, just wait until it is time to use an upgrade.  My son's phone was damaged but he was timed for an upgrade, so I called our local store and guess what?  Once you upgrade you no longer get the family share discount on that line.  Yes, it would be an extra $25 per month.  So, if you have three more smartphones and you need to upgrade, guess what?  The whole discount is gone.  Oh, but, ATT says that's OK.  Just try our Next plan, then it only goes up about $15 per line, becasue of the monthly rental.  What a racquet.  They are 100% shameless.  How many out there know that, unlike broadband, there is no competition for data access using cellular.  That's right.  ATT doesn't have to pay anything extra to provide data, and it doesn't have to compete like a cable company.  That's why T-Mobile can offer the plans it does.  ATT is criminal.  The FCC should investigate this.

After upgrading four lines, I will be back to the same monthly fee I was at before I signed up for the value share plan.

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@NewtCubbie1 wrote:

...  What a racquet.  They are 100% shameless.  

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I agree with you, it is such a racket they they give you a $25 per month discount if you are not under a contract!  Everyone should pay the same higher fee, contract or not!!!  It's an even bigger racket that they gave you a discount on your phones that were under contract as a "good will gesture" (if your contract was originated before a certain date) because they wanted to cement their racket on under-charging you for being a "loyal customer".  They are without any shame for those despicable actions!

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@GeekBoy wrote:

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@NewtCubbie1 wrote:

...  What a racquet.  They are 100% shameless.  

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I agree with you, it is such a racket they they give you a $25 per month discount if you are not under a contract!  Everyone should pay the same higher fee, contract or not!!!  It's an even bigger racket that they gave you a discount on your phones that were under contract as a "good will gesture" (if your contract was originated before a certain date) because they wanted to cement their racket on under-charging you for being a "loyal customer".  They are without any shame for those despicable actions!

 

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People were complaining about the line costs once a phone was out of contract. If you didn't upgrade every 2 years, you paid for it anyway. That is why the cell providers have offered A DISCOUNT if you don't have a subsidized upgrade. The plan prices were reduced, which everyone was happy about, until  they try to upgrade, then the price increases. YOU PAY FOR THE SUBSIDIZED PHONE COST, on way  or another. You can't have it both ways - Lower prices AND subsidized phones.

I agree!  Right now I have the 10gb family plane.  Went to upgrade and was told it would be 40 a month for the phone.  right now i pay 15 per phone for access, i think it is so confusing. I do not want to pay anymore. I am afraid to make a move any where accept ot another carrier.  Why would att want to do this to their customers.  Why does it have to be so confusing. For the people who say it stated so clear, you either work for Att or your a lawyer who completely understands the ins and outs of contracts. Is this what is next to have a lawyer read Att contract before you agree to anything.